The Sound and the Fury. Written by William Faulkner. First published in 1929. Free to read online. Free and available at most public libraries. Inexpensive at book sales. Available in used book stores…

I have not actually finished this novel. It is a very difficult work to read. I think I could just skim through it and I would know a few names, a few characters. I can’t do that to this book.

There are no chapters. There is simply an awareness of others and the unspoken thoughts of one. It took me a long time to realize this even though the difference between the two modes of communication are visibly apparent (unspoken thought is in italics). Neither the past nor the future seems to hold any relevance as the present unravels with painful awareness.

The book begins with the unspoken thoughts of a pre-verbal child. A slow child. A child not like the others. Faulkner gave me the opportunity to listen in to this child’s impressions of the world. To the unspoken needs and desires of one.

About halfway through the book, possibly this is about halfway through a young man’s life, a watch crystal is purposefully broken and the hands are removed. Time is still running but the ability to count the seconds into minutes, the minutes into hours…. using that watch, has been stilled. Does time have meaning if you can no longer measure it?

This book has grown difficult again. I am putting it down, again. I have not read any of the hundreds of discussions on this book. I would like to wait until I finish it and come to my own conclusions. For this reason, Faulker and his boys will have to wait on me. Time, for the written word may be almost endless. These words will wait for me….

I found this book, and many more, in a library book sale. I had purchased other books the day before and was given a paper bag with $5 written on it. If I came back the next day I could fill my paper bag with paperbacks. As many as the bag would hold. They would all be mine for that $5. I did. I have found some wonderful books this way.

Library book sales are often run by groups called “Friends of the Library” or a similar name. Your local library may hold these sales several times a year. There are many charitable organizations that also hold book drives and book sales. These are fun events and great places to begin building a library of real books or, adding to your existing collection, with real friends….

The cherry trees lining the street where I work now are in bloom. I have the privilege of walking by them several days a week. Many of the buds have opened.

The “For Rent” sign was removed from this nest on Monday afternoon. Renovations are underway and the new tenants are noisy and cheeky….

This afternoon, there are more blossoms open. Tomorrow the show of pink against blue should be stunning.

Tuesday Blossoms and the sky is even bluer….

I have been privileged to stand watch as a four hour sunset turned into a four hour sunrise. That was many July’s ago during a 12 hour graveyard shift on the roof of a coker at Syncrude.

I do not have a photograph, only memories… Inside the plant, personal cameras are not allowed to be carried by employees.

Today is February 23, 2014.

The photos of the cherry blossoms were taken in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada where in February’s past we have huddled under umbrellas, pulling our jackets close as the cold winds blew in off of the water. I grew up here. The cold winds and wet weather of winter are what is necessary to keep the rain forests green.

Climate change is real.

I have recently read Naomi Klein’s newest book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate. I do not believe that she exaggerates any point.

A link to the following article was in my mail yesterday. The article is interesting however, I don’t think it really gets at what might be underlying causes of birds imbibing a little too much or a little too frequently….

My thoughts on this are going towards the caloric intake in fruits and berries that are fermented or are in the process of fermenting. It seems to me that it might be higher than when the fruits and berries have just freshly ripened.

Reading a bit further and another thought occurred to me! Higher caloric intake for wildlife, just before winter sets in, would be useful for survival. Putting on a little weight to get through the cold dark nights. Can the fermentation of fruits provide other contributions to survival?

So, if the intoxicating fruits and berries are a good thing, why are some birds overdoing it? Now? Could it be that there is less competition for these yummy morsels? Fewer birds equals more party favours?

And thinking along these lines… maybe we need to look at chronic diseases that may have some beginning in the foods that are available to us now as well as those that we choose to eat a lot of and, without competition, possibly eat a little too regularly – much like the small woodland creatures and birds in the first few articles.

Your thoughts are important to me and to continuing this as a discussion. Please comment….

Now, I tried to put the following into my own words but, it is so perfectly written that I have copied and pasted it here for you:

“A Case for Mangroves
The approximately 70 distinct species of mangroves in the world cover roughly 17,000,000 hectares globally (Valiela et al. 2001) – only 0.12 percent of the Earth’s surface (Sullivan 2005, Ellison 2008). The greatest diversity is in Southeast Asia (36-46 species); the lowest diversity is in the United States and the Middle East (1-3 species) (Polidoro et al. 2010). Mangroves are being cut down or otherwise destroyed at such a high rate that they may be functionally extinct by 2100 (Duke et al. 2007). In just the last 50 years, 30-50 percent of the global acreage has been lost. (Alongi 2002, Duke et al. 2007) Mangroves are among the most valuable and most threatened ecosystems on Earth. The ecosystems services they provide—e.g., buffering coastal communities against flooding and storms, fiber production, habitat for thousands of species of birds, mammals and marine species—are estimated to be worth US $1.6 billion dollars/year (Polidoro et al. 2010). In addition, recent evidence suggests that mangroves sequester carbon more effectively than any other tropical forest (Donato et al. 2011).”

This is important!

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There are 65 of the most influential papers on mangroves and mangrove forests listed on this site. All are worth reading but, we don’t all have that much time….

If there is a paper that you feel is missing, please add it in the comments below. I look forward to hearing from you.

The Way of the Mister — These words are offensive! This video is offensive! It is a must watch! I am not offended by this video, I am offended by the fact that the Catholic Church will probably get away with yet another offensive speech by yet another offensive leader, without understanding what it is they have done, are doing, and will likely continue to do.

I have a hard copy of the transcript (available beneath the YouTube video), just in case it disappears!

Patrick McKinley Brennan. 2013. Subsidiarity in the Tradition of Catholic Social Doctrine, Chapter in Subsidiarity in Comparative Perspective. Michelle Evans and Augusto Zimmermann (eds.). Springer. Villanova University School of Law, School of Law Working Paper Series, 2012, Paper 173.

Jeffrey S. Burwell. 2014. Pope Francis and Bill 18: How his vision of non-judgment could temper the ways that administrators of Catholic schools in Manitoba integrate the Safe and Inclusive Schools amendment. University of Manitoba, St. Paul’s College.

I have given myself a big list to prepare for you! A combined bibliography with links will be available soon. If I take too long, please send a note. It helps to know there are people waiting for these.

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Now, go read! Then make up your own mind and leave a comment…

Also, please add links to more articles and books in the comments. There is so much more!

Words such as condone and condemn have very different meanings. I have heard that the actions of a few are not ‘condoned.’ I have yet to hear that the actions of the past weeks have been ‘condemned’ by any group. Words are being carefully chosen, text is being carefully sanitized, articles have been carefully ameliorated to protect feelings rather than to preserve human rights. We publish names of the innocent and names of the accused but we cannot convey the full meaning of an event, a tragedy, an atrocity if the language used has been softened to protect feelings….

To not report news, in full, because it might offend “somebody” is to fall far short of being fair, honest and open to all and this includes those who may be offended. (There is a long tradition of not putting true images of prophets, gods and others…. on paper. A 2,500 year old [a guess at the number of years that have passed since Buddha discouraged the manufacture of his likeness] discouragement of representations of Buddha is an example.) When did the lawyers decide that news must not be offensive? News, to be considered news, is a reporting of offenses and the results of offenses! To do otherwise is truly offensive.

“‘To be explicit, easy, free, and very plain’ was the ideal set down for himself by Daniel Defoe… No wonder he was one of the most popular journalists of his own time [18th century].” Murray Sheehan, Hints of News Reporting (Little Blue Book No. 342), 1922. Daniel Defoe wrote Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe as well as many other books in addition to being a 17th/18th century journalist.

My French and Spanish are extremely poor. I do not know any Arabic, however, this will not stop me from purchasing a copy of the next edition of Charlie Hebdo (which will be published in French, Spanish, Arabic and English) whether or not I find a copy in English. My purchase will be in support of those who have died, in support of those who continue to work at this newspaper, and in support of a future with greater freedom and greater protection of human rights for everyone. I plan on this being only my first copy of Charlie Hebdo. We need to continue to support these very brave people after the headlines disappear into history!

The oilspill in the Sundarbans National Park seems to have been all but ignored by world news services. I heard about it on a blog, SkyTruth, and decided that there must be information out there that would help me to understand the area, the damage, and the responsibility.

There is. There is a lot out there to read! Scientists and other concerned people have been writing about pollution, oil spills and clean-ups for a very long time.

Here is some of what I have been reading as well as some of what I will be reading:

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The Sundarbans National Park– A UNESCO Heritage Site

The Sundarbans is an area composed of rivers, some arable land and the largest mangrove forest on earth. It is also home to some of the poorest people on earth. There is no industry here. There are no resource friendly alternatives to illegal fishing and hunting. There are no jobs. This is an area where caste restricts choices.

There is a novel that depicts the Sundarbans as treacherous with humans holding on to a tenuous existence in the presence of an untamed nature. (The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh, 2005.) Even the islands that dot the waterways are not constant but change, grow, disappear and reappear with seasons and storms.

Huma Yaqub. 2014. Tides of Change Breaking against the World of Sundarbans: A Study of Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide. International Journal of English Language, Literature and Humanities, Vol. II, Issue V, pages 104-113. Link

Where does the information in these papers come from? Research! Research by the authors of these papers and by researchers and authors before them. A selected bibliography is here (this will be a large file!): Soon….

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Added on February 8, 2015.

A collected bibliography, most gathered from the above articles but not all, for you to peruse. Possibly, this bibliography could be called ‘second generation’ as it provided the writers of the above research papers with documented research that they could use and further….

This document is fairly long. There is a lot of good information in there, research and writing by many very qualified science specialists and others….. I began to put links in to the articles in this list but, there are just too many. If you have trouble finding anything on this list just leave a comment below I would be more than happy to take a look and see if I can help.

There is a photograph on the home page of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Website that I initially found amusing but after thinking about it for a while, I have decided that I actually find it offensive.

It is a photograph of a row of shoes. Three pairs are black, one pair is brown, one pair is white. Three are kind of dressy, two are kind of casual. Two are flats, three have heels. Four have a strap across the instep, one doesn’t. All five pairs of shoes would be appropriate for an entry level position in an office environment (my opinion only, I am sure you could wear them other places too….) The shoes are not the problem. The problem is the caption at the top of the photograph:

Photograph and caption are being used here for educational purposes only. Fair use.

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There is one pair of feet filling the middle pair of low heel, white shoes. Is this it? Are the choices that these shoes represent the only ones that women can expect to fill? Are the choices of women choosing this particular university literally this narrow? And, why choose the middle pair (middle of the road)? Why choose the white pair (I don’t want to go here right now – I will go here later!)? Why choose the pair with the mid-range of heel height (again in the middle…) Why choose the middle pair (the middle pair? Did I ask this already)? Would the corresponding line-up of men’s shoes have five pairs of middle-of-the-road, entry level office position style choices? Who chose these shoes?

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My problem:

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Is this it? Is this all the choice that a woman entering this university can expect? Middle of the road, sensible, affordable shoes that are appropriate for an office setting? I mean, careers? Where are the CSA approved worked boots? Where are the hiking boots for the archaeologists and geologists? Where are the nursing clogs (these are not only practical but really comfy!)? This row of five pairs of shoes doesn’t even have anything suitable for wearing into a fine arts class….

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A peak into my closet (front to back, left to right): Sensible tough walking shoes with sturdy soles. Running shoes. Strappy high heels. Hiking boots. Mid-heel black slip-ons. More heels. CSA approved green-tagged workboots (2 pair!). More running shoes. Another good sturdy pair of boots. Rubber boots. More strappy heels. A pile of flip-flops (well, those might not be appropriate in too many work environments) and a couple pairs of sensible flats (these don’t get to work much either)…. You get the picture. Life is about choice! Dress for it!

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Where are the university watchdogs? The ones who sing at the top of their lungs if you accidentally put a “he” or a “she” into a piece of writing? Where are the people from the student groups who managed to get two gender-free washrooms at the Surrey campus? Well? Where are they? Or, is going after an approved photograph on the home page of the university website just a little too, ummmm…. up front and political?

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Okay, link time. I am not too certain where my article links might take me after this little rant but, I do know that they will probably be interesting. If you know of any articles or papers that would fit in here, please post a link in the comments section.

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Is there gender bias in university advertising? This article is not specific to university advertising but it is interesting and does provide an active mind with lots of relevant questions….

Does education that is traditionally gender-biased (nursing / trades) put a person at risk of being an outsider? Having been through trades training and attained journeyman status (red seal tickets), I have to say that it does. The following article, viewed from behind my background in the trades, is particularly interesting.

The recruiters are out there, at the universities, looking for future banking, civil service, retail employees. What about the other choices? Is anyone actually doing any recruiting for the people that actually fit into the non-traditional roles? They used to!

Not every question I ask gets answered. In fact, most of my questions do not have answers or at least, they don’t have easy answers…. This stroll through academia is just that, a stroll. For me, I ended up with more questions than I started with. This is not a bad thing. What are some of the questions you have?

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If any of these links do not work, please contact me and I will try to help you find the article, paper or book that you are looking for.

If you find any broken links on this blog, please leave a comment or send me a note so that it can be repaired. Thank you….

I have an Etsy shop! It has become a goal to be able to work without schedule, to be able to study, create, get enough sleep, and pay my bills without have to time my morning coffee to the public transit schedule….

With this in mind, I began to go through some articles that I have here. Some are printed out, some are online, some have a partially finished precis. They are all interesting and in putting this post together I have read parts of all them although, not all of them have made it here.

Why this article interested me: I love embroidery! I learned to do embroidery from my grandmother. When my daughter was small, my ability to knit helped to pay the bills. Small ventures in a cooperative atmosphere can make life easier.

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Article: Village Development Groups: Model Based on Participation in Achieving Rural Development. pdf

Why this article interested me: After finding the article by Julia Murphy, I went looking for more. One of the keyword groups I used was “micro credit.” Developing small businesses with very small amounts of venture capital has worked and is working. I wanted to know more!

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Article: New Venture Teams: A Review of the Literature and Roadmap for Future Research. pdf

Why this article interested me: So, starting a business… Venture capital… Taking a chance… Is there still a climate in North America for the small partnership to succeed? I found this article. It has a lot about studies, research, benefits. But, cooperation between individuals was my question.

Why this article? Because the title caught my attention! To find out more about the differences between economics majors and non-economics majors and how self-interest might play a role in business decisions, this is a lighter than average and, an interesting read!

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Book: A Handbook of Fist Puppets. By Bessie Alexander Ficklen: With eight reproductions from photographs and numerous line drawings by Julie Brown

Published in: 1935.

Publisher: Frederick A. Stocks Company. New York.

Library Holdings: One copy (1963) is available in the reference section at the Toronto Public Library. Link

There are also many copies of this book for sale, online…

Why this book? The title of Chapter XIV is “Money-Making with Fist Puppets.” This book was a $1 find at a library book sale many years ago. I have enjoyed browsing the pages and it holds a special place on my bookshelf. Even though I will probably never venture to sell handmade fist puppets or write or stage my own fist puppet play, the author of this book encourages this as a means of creativity and possible income. There is also a short, annotated, bibliography!

Why this paper? Lewis Binford’s description of the Nunamiut, “logistically organized.” Hunter-gatherer’s used their knowledge of the world around them to survive. They had to know when to move, when to stay, who to trade with. I love reading about ancient civilizations. We have discovered a lot about many civilizations, peoples, cultures but, we can only guess at what they knew and how they knew it.

Biology is about survival and there are only two outcomes to business, success and failure. Life is about much more. It is about cooperation, successes and failures, personal growth and continuation despite the outcomes. We need to read!

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If any of these links do not work, please contact me and I will try to help you find the article or book that you are looking for.

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If you find any broken links on this blog, please leave a comment or send me a note so that it can be repaired. Thank you….